Recycling in\u00a0England\u00a0is set to increase,\u00a0thanks to new Simpler Recycling reforms\u00a0set out by\u00a0UK government.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reforms\u00a0introduce new requirements over\u00a0a period of time,\u00a0with the latest set of rules helping households recycle more\u00a0from home.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Local authorities in England must\u00a0start\u00a0working\u00a0towards collecting a core set of materials in\u00a0household recycling collections, if not already.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The core materials are\u00a0metal, glass, paper & card,\u00a0plastic,\u00a0cartons (eg\u00a0Tetrapak)\u00a0and food waste.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reforms have been introduced to standardise recycling nationally,\u00a0eliminate\u00a0confusion\u00a0over what can be recycled,\u00a0and to increase the\u00a0UK\u2019s\u00a0current\u00a0recycling rate\u00a0of 44.6% (2023).\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2024-25, Devon\u00a0maintained\u00a0one of the highest recycling rates in England at\u00a054.2%, placing it second nationally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most\u00a0councils in Devon either already collect these\u00a0core\u00a0materials\u00a0(and more)\u00a0from households or\u00a0can\u00a0add\u00a0these\u00a0core\u00a0materials to existing containers, meaning that\u00a0the majority of\u00a0Devon\u00a0residents will see\u00a0little change\u00a0to their current recycling collection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any\u00a0additional\u00a0materials\u00a0will be introduced gradually\u00a0over time\u00a0and any changes will be communicated to residents\u00a0<\/p>\n
DEFRA is staggering the implementation of Simpler Recycling over three key dates in total:\u00a0<\/p>\n
From March 31st\u00a02025\u00a0\u2013 Core recycling (metal, glass, paper & card, plastic,\u00a0cartons\u00a0and food waste)\u00a0must be collected from\u00a0business and non-domestic\u00a0premises\u00a0(such as schools and hospitals)\u00a0employing 10 or more full time employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From March 31st\u00a02026\u00a0\u2013 Local authorities must\u00a0work towards\u00a0standardised core recycling collections, including weekly food waste collections for households.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From March 31st\u00a02027\u00a0\u2013 Plastic film\u00a0such as bags, wrappers and film packaging\u00a0will also be included as part of the plastic waste stream.\u00a0Micro-businesses with fewer than 10 employees will have to be compliant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Simpler Recycling scheme is designed to simplify the recycling system so people can recycle the same materials whether they are at home,\u00a0school\u00a0or work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reforms standardise what\u00a0items\u00a0can\u00a0be recycled\u00a0as a core minimum\u00a0but\u00a0will\u00a0not mandate how the\u00a0recycling is collected from households.<\/p>\n
Currently, collections are decided at a local level, with\u00a0each local\u00a0authority\u00a0deciding which collection system, such as bins, boxes or bags, would be most suitable\u00a0for that area,\u00a0given the funding available,\u00a0local housing type and other factors.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0national\u00a0\u2018one size fits all\u2019\u00a0approach would not\u00a0be\u00a0suitable,\u00a0since\u00a0the\u00a0considerations\u00a0for urban\u00a0environments\u00a0are\u00a0very different\u00a0to\u00a0those\u00a0in rural areas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t <\/p>\n
Councillor\u00a0Jacqi\u00a0Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, said:\u00a0 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Simpler Recycling\u00a0reforms are a step in the right direction and should make it much easier\u00a0and less confusing\u00a0for people to recycle at home,\u00a0school\u00a0and work.\u00a0Devon residents already do a fantastic job at recycling, but any\u00a0measures\u00a0that make\u00a0recycling easier\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0change for the better.\u00a0Hopefully\u00a0we will see recycling rates increase\u00a0in Devon and\u00a0nationally as a result.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
For more information about recycling in Devon, visit\u00a0www.recycledevon.org<\/a>.\u00a0 Also go to: Simpler recycling: household recycling in England \u2013 GOV.UK<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recycling in\u00a0England\u00a0is set to increase,\u00a0thanks to new Simpler Recycling reforms\u00a0set out by\u00a0UK government.\u00a0\u00a0 The reforms\u00a0introduce new requirements over\u00a0a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-461736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}